Human Nature
by Onceforthefun
Summary: Mercedes saw Quinn get up and she panicked. No matter what that stick said, her life was about to change...
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is a 'spin off' of "For the Win". You don't have to have read that to read this, but if you have any questions, PM me or write a review and I will try to answer it. This is set in August of 2022. This is my first SamCedes, so be gentle, lol. **

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><p>Five days. That's all Mercedes had left to wait. Five days, and then she'd get to see Young again. She was excited. She couldn't remember the last time she was this excited; that she had a guy in her life to be this excited about. Although she and Xavier had been dating for eight months before they broke up, now that it was over (and if she took the time to be honest with herself), that relationship had spelled disaster from the very beginning. Xavier was a music producer that she'd met through a mutual friend. He was five years older, and he liked to lord that over her head, as if in those five years he had gained all the wisdom of the universe. Which, fine, if he acted like he was 34, but he didn't. He still went out to bars as if he were still in his early 20s and trying to pick up anything in a skirt, would never quite agree to going to church, and hadn't worked very hard to make her feel secure in their relationship.<p>

While they were dating Mercedes hadn't really noticed these things. He had his moments of being charming, and Mercedes allowed herself to be charmed by him. Before him, it had been nearly two years since she had been in a relationship. Otherwise she had gone on a date or two every couple of months, but those evenings hadn't turned into anything even semi-promising. In LA, in New York, and now in Boston, Mercedes had run across the same sort of problems when it came to the dating department. She never seemed to _fit. _In LA she was too anxious to date anyone. She had a limited amount of money, and a dream to sustain her in a city that was filled with nothing but dreamers.

LA wasn't what she was expecting. It was so diverse, and so _brown_. Ethnically, Lima was white; about 70% white, a little bit less than a quarter black, 2% Hispanic, and the rest other. LA was so _other_ that it didn't really feel right considering it _other_. The three groups that had surprised her the most: the Japanese, the Germans, (both mostly tourists), and the Koreans. On TV, LA and Hollywood were like a reflection of Lima's demographic, but the actual city itself was far, far more diverse. That was good and bad. Although less of a percentage of the city was black, there were far more black people in LA then in Lima, which was comforting. It made it feel kind of homely, knowing she didn't stick out quite so much. She'd had no trouble finding a church where she felt at home. Finding someone to call her own, though, had been so much harder.

The overwhelming numbers were a shock to her senses. She had no idea how she was supposed to navigate through all of the people. She didn't know how she was supposed to make it when she was just her, all alone in a massive city, on a different coast, with different rules. She didn't have friends to bounce things off of, and she hadn't dated much because the guys seemed to think that sex should follow a first kiss, and too many guys just didn't understand that she wasn't promiscuous. Mercedes also wasn't a size two, and she was often overlooked because of that, too.

The scene in New York wasn't much better; she just wasn't so alone. She'd had Santana, and Rachel, and Kurt, and then Sam. She shook her head on that one. She accepted a long time ago that the two of them would never fit together. They were a good fit for each other, they just didn't fit together. She could feel silly with Sam, without it being an issue, she could talk to him about anything, he was always encouraging of her, she felt comfortable in his arms; out of any guy she had ever dated (not that the pool had been all that large), he reminded her the most of her brother, and by extension her father. He wasn't all that smart, but she didn't hold that against him, and she definitely didn't hold those abs against him either. She'd fallen quickly for him, and never let go…it just never worked out.

But Sam was in the past, and even though things with Young were new, they were promising. Usually she hated it whenever her friends tried to set her up because they had blinders on, as far as she was concerned. Mercedes had, far too often for comfort, showed up for a blind date where the guy was expecting to find a Quinn or a Santana, or a Tesla, only to be disappointed when she showed up. It was so very bruising to the ego. She loved Quinn, she really did, but her girl just didn't get that the way she saw her, wasn't the way everyone else saw her. (Brittany was the worst, because all of the guys she tried to match Mercedes up with were dancers, and they automatically assumed she couldn't keep up because of her size).

So, to protect herself, she had flat out set down a mandate that her friends were not allowed to try to hook her up. She'd been blindsided by Young. She'd noticed him at Puck's wedding; he would have been impossible to miss. He'd struck her as being handsome and very well mannered (especially to be a friend of Puck's), but he hadn't stuck in her mind because she was dating Xavier at the time.

So when he called her one day, out of the blue, it took her a moment to remember him. And then did, and she knew that his calling had been either Santana or Quinn's doing. She had every intention of immediately calling them up after she got off the phone with Young to remind them that she didn't need any interference in her love life, but then they had ended up talking for two and a half hours, and by the time she hung up, she'd forgotten that she owed the sneaky bitches words.

She learned from her past encounters though. She made sure to ask him, several times during the call, if he was sure he remembered her correctly, of which he assured her that he did. Still, she made him Google Hangouts chat with her the next time they talked. He hadn't seemed disappointed when he saw her again; if anything he seemed excited. They had talked every day since that first phone call; Mercedes had even reluctantly sung for him. It had been so long since she felt that connection to someone, and she'd been floored when Young asked if he could be her date to Quinn and Santana's wedding/reception. She hadn't hesitated to say yes.

And now she would get to see him again in just five days! Unfortunately, her best friend was determined to make sure that those five days went by as slowly as possible.

Mercedes inwardly cringed at the list that Quinn had for them for the day. It seemed endless.

"We've already been to see the florist once this week," Mercedes protested. "Why are we going to the florist _again_?"

Quinn wore a look that clearly said that she had anything and everything under control. "I need to make sure that they got the change in the arrangements."

"Didn't you fax them over the list earlier?"

"Yes, but I want to be certain that they got the fax," Quinn said.

"Why not call just call?"

Quinn seemed to get agitated by the simple question alone. "I did, but I want to stop by to make absolute sure they understand the changes. They were kind of complicated."

Mercedes hovered somewhere around agitation and appreciation for her friend. Although Quinn had relaxed a considerable amount since high school, she was still very much that girl that had to have every last detail planned out. Mercedes forgot, daily, that the Quinn she knew and loved was not the same Quinn that most people came in contact with. Mercedes could dress down Quinn with a handful of words; it was hard to pull rank with someone you had seen cry. For everyone else, though, Quinn was that dark dynamo who knew how to manipulate people, whether it was by being warm and charming, or by being cruel and demanding. She was a woman who expected to get her way, and that had not changed.

"I'm pretty sure that they understood their directions. I know you might think so, but I don't think that this is their first wedding."

"I just want to be _sure_," Quinn stressed. So Mercedes just frowned, and followed behind, but when Quinn ended up checking in on the table cloth rentals, she kind of lost it.

"Q, girl, I love you, but you are about to drive me insane! You are spending far too much time nitpicking over minute details, and not to be like obvious or anything, but aren't you and Santana _already_ married?"

"Yes, but we didn't have a real ceremony that first time."

"I liked the ceremony the first time," Mercedes responded, and she did. Even though it was just her, Quinn, Santana, Britt, and their moms, and it had been in the middle of the afternoon, it had been perfect just the way it was. It had been all shotgun wedding style kinds of rushed, yes, but with the mercurial nature of her two best friends, the less time the two of them had to think about what they were doing, the better. Mercedes was still kind of shocked that they were actually married now. It wasn't because she couldn't see how the two of them fit together-honestly, the two of them were just plain perfect for each other- it was just that they both had their heads so far up their asses she didn't think either of them would ever clue in to just how much the other meant to them. Who would have thought that all it would take was a bet with Noah to make it happen.

Quinn gave a shy little smile. "I did, too," she admitted, "but you know what I mean. We didn't have the bells and whistles with my family there, and her family there, and all of our friends, and what not. And this is, hopefully, the only wedding I'm going to have…well, the only marriage I'm going to have, so I want everything to be perfect. I just want that special moment."

Mercedes understood special moments, but a little, teeny part of her wanted to remind Quinn of all the special moments that she already had. She had been nominated for Prom Queen junior and senior year (had also technically been Prom Queen senior year), had been homecoming queen, captain of the Cheerios, at the top of the food chain in high school, had graduated at the top of her class from Yale, and had degrees from not one, but two Ivy League schools. Mercedes, on the other hand, had gone through nearly three years of high school without a boyfriend-Puck didn't count.

The spotlight had very rarely shown her way despite her fashion acumen and her powerhouse voice. The closest she'd gotten to a solo for competition was when they trotted her out to sing that very last note, and then when, for once in her life, she had in her sights on the lead in the school play, she had had to _share_ it with Rachel. Sure she might not have handled that situation in the best way possible, but Rachel had diva storm outs every other day, and she never got even close to the backlash that Mercedes did. Rachel thought that she was tortured in high school; Mercedes had had just as many facial slushies as Rachel had, but with far fewer people rallying around her. Rachel felt her nose set her apart; Mercedes wished that it was _only_ her nose that set her apart.

She may have been a little loud, but only because she had to scream to even be heard; to get just a little attention for herself. It wasn't until her singing career took off that she finally got a taste of being special, but even then, even then her producers had wanted to put her in the background of like a Destiny's Child like group, or had even suggested that someone else sing her songs, Milli Vanilli style.

So yeah, Mercedes understood wanting to have a special moment. So she tried to bite back her tongue when she was out and about with Quinn, as she micromanaged all the details of the Big Event.

"Of course you want it to be special, and it will be, whether or not the flowers are perfect, or your dress hangs off of you a certain way because at the end of the day, it's Santana that's going to be waiting for you," Mercedes had to remind her best friend. Mercedes has been there for the whole long slog; from the sideways glances, to talking Quinn down from going after Brittany, to staying up with her after Santana and Brittany ran off to Lesbos together, because she was convinced they were going to come back married. "So all of the little details, they're just that. Little."

Quinn gave her an appreciative look, and planted a kiss on her cheek. "Did I ever tell you how much I love you?"

Mercedes offered her arm. Quinn slid her own in it, resting her head on Mercedes shoulder. "I love you, Mercy. Never stop being my friend."

"If I haven't yet, I guess that means I'm sticking with you."

Mercedes cell phone went off. Quinn lifted from her position, so Mercedes could better reach into her purse to pull out her phone. She smiled as soon as she saw who had sent her a text.

Quinn poked an elbow into her side. "Who's that?" she teased.

Mercedes rolled her eyes and didn't answer her.

**Young (16:30): Just got off of post. You home?**

** Mercedes (16:31): Out with Quinn. Text you when I get there?**

** Young (16:35): Looking forward to it, Pretty. **

Mercedes smile deepened. "It's Young," she explained, after she put the phone back in her purse.

Quinn smiled, too. "You really like him, don't you?"

Mercedes frowned to cover up how big she wanted to smile. "I do," she hedged, "but it's new, and who knows where it's going to go?"

Quinn gave her a kind look. "There's nothing wrong with hoping for the best, Merce."

"It is when things never seem to work out."

They said their good-bye's a little while later. Mercedes practically booted up Hangouts as soon as she was through the door. Young picked up immediately, his smile filling the screen. "Hey, beautiful, how was your day?"

Mercedes had a reciprocal smile ready for him. "I swear, if we get through this wedding without someone dying, it will be a miracle."

Young chuckled. It was this deep, rich sound. "When my cousin got married, he called to check on the venue every day for a month, because he had this dream that they gave up their reservation to someone else. I think every body goes crazy over weddings these days. Our society raises us to chase after this fairy tale wedding; to try to feel like princes and princesses, which, in case you didn't know, is the biggest perk of marrying a military man."

"What's that?"

"Getting married in full dress is the closest thing you get to marrying prince charming," he said with a charming smile. "Just be patient with your girlfriend. Ideally it's the only 'big day' she's going to get."

"I like to think so, but it seems like two or three weddings is the norm now."

"My mother only married once. Then again, she and my dad weren't married, so not sure if that counts."

"I only want to be married once. I know everyone says that, but I mean it. My parents fell in love in high school, and they're still married."

"I like hearing that," Young said with a smile. "It makes me believe it's still possible."

"Me too," Mercedes agreed. "But sometimes I just don't think that we're built that same way anymore."

"Your brother's still doing well, isn't he?" Young questioned. Mercedes smiled because when she told Young something, he remembered it. She was sure Xavier wasn't even aware that she had a brother. She accepted a little bit of blame for that, though, because she had never had the inkling to introduce him to her family. That should have been an indication that things weren't going to last between them.

"2 kids and seven years strong," she said proudly.

Junior had flat out refused to date during his undergrad years, dedicating his life solely to his coursework, which enabled him to graduate in 3 years instead of 4. He met his wife, Whitney, in between under grad and med school. As a pre-med student, he hadn't had a shortage of people who were interested in the idea of some day marrying a doctor, but not many that were willing to tough it out. Whitney, who had been in grad school while he was in med school, was equally ambitious, and Junior figured that if their relationship survived med school, then he had found the woman that he wanted to marry. He proposed the day after graduation. It had taken only a year after they got married for them to have their first kid, Leila, and then Michael the III, had been born a few months ago.

"See, so it's doable. Will your parents be at the wedding?"

"Oh, yes. Quinn's like a second daughter to my mother."

"Does that mean I will be meeting them?" Young questioned hopefully.

Mercedes stared at Young's image, trying to discern his emotions through the pixels projected. "You _want_ to meet my parents?"

"Of course. Why do you sound so surprised by that?"

"It hasn't been very long, and guys don't usually want to meet the father." Unless it was serious. And especially if the father was Senior. The older Michael Jones wasn't a very imposing man physically. He was slightly overweight, and not very tall, just 5'9. He didn't ooze charisma, and came across often as being very intense. He was usually the last to crack a joke, or to smile. To Mercedes he was a very kind and loving man, but he was intensely hard to please when it came to his children's perspective partners. Children's parters, and not just his daughter because Senior's expectations for his son were the exact same that he set for his daughter. He didn't play favorites, there were no double standards. If a party was too 'racy' for Mercedes, it was the same for Junior. They'd had the same curfew, the same rules when it came to dating, the same expectation that they would wait for marriage before they started having sex. Junior made it; Mercedes didn't.

"No, _boys_ don't want to meet the father," he corrected, "because usually they have ill intentions, which I don't. He sounds like a great man, why wouldn't I want to meet him?"

"I don't think you know what you're getting yourself into; my father's like a hurricane."

Young chuckled at that. "Well then it's a good thing I'm trained to withstand all weather conditions, huh?"

Mercedes could really see herself falling for this guy, especially when he said things like that. She couldn't remember a guy actually anticipating being introduced to her dad. Sam hadn't exactly shied away from it, but he probably should have because Senior didn't like him and didn't hide that fact either. Honestly, her family hadn't been that receptive to Sam at all. Junior was the only one who had really made much of an effort.

"Anything I should know beforehand?"

"Give him a firm handshake when you two meet, and always look him in the eye. You do that, you're already halfway in. He might be scary, but you don't have to worry _too_ much. I already know he's going to love you."

"What makes you so certain?"

"To my dad there's only two acceptable career choices out there for a man: medicine or the military."

"He ranks the military up there with being a doctor?"

"Yep."

"Enlisted or an officer?"

"Surprisingly, it doesn't matter. My dad's _never _liked Puck, but after he enlisted…if I mention anything positive about him now he just gives this self-satisfied nod, like he expected nothing else. My grandpa was the son of a share cropper, and the only thing that saved him from the same fate was WW II. He spent 20 years in the military, and it gave him his start in life, so my dad is very respectful of the military."

"So if I were a military doctor, then that would really set me up with your dad?"

"For life. He'd probably marry you himself. Or adopt you."

"Maybe it's not too late to switch to being a medic," he joked.

They talked for another hour before they ended the session, and Mercedes checked her phone to see what she missed while talking to Young. She groaned when she saw that she had received several texts from Rachel. Mercedes shook her head. 10 years out of high school, and yet Rachel knew how to always bring them back to where they'd been.

She reread the message: **Rachel Berry (18:00): Don't forget! Rehearsals: 7:15 in the morning. Sharp. **

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><p>There was no denying that Rachel Berry around the Glee club, and Rachel Berry, Broadway Star***! were two different people. They kind of all were, in a way, but most of them had kind of grown out past Glee. Kurt may have still called her up twice a week, without fail, to share with her the latest in celebrity gossip, fashion gossip, and baby updates (which to be honest were half annoying, half highly anticipated because Mercedes really thought she'd have a kid or two by now), but he no longer called to chat about hot guys anymore, and there was a new maturity about him. Brittany was still ditzy with her usual smattering of brilliance that always seemed to come from left field, but she was also a business woman, and a wife, and not so up in the air. They were all kind of changing, but Rachel, whenever they were all together, would always be Rachel.<p>

She instantly took over, and insisted on Booty Camp levels of preparation, as if their friends' proposal and wedding were one of her Broadway productions, and she was making a bid for a Tony. Predictably, scarcely a few minutes passed before she and Mercedes were locked in a 'friendly discussion', about who was better suited to serve the main roles. Rachel, of course, wanted a solo for both the proposal, and the wedding, since she hadn't been invited to the ceremony the first time around (of which she was tremendously resentful). And, too, because she felt like her voice was always the best suited to every occasion.

They settled on making the song that Santana wanted a duet. To further save the aggravation, Mercedes acquiesced to the wedding, giving Rachel complete control over the function. As soon as she did that she realized something: she didn't honestly care. Not because she had evolved from such childish things, and not because she didn't want to make Quinn and Santana's nuptials special, but because although Mercedes had been prepared to deal with a controlling Rachel, she wasn't prepared to see Sam there, so early in the morning, looking just woken up. She didn't expect the look he gave her to send her back to the time that they were living together. She wasn't expecting Sam to come to town so early, either, but there he was. And damn, had he always been that cute? And those lips.

One look at him, and Mercedes couldn't concentrate on caring about asserting that she was just as good as Rachel.

It took only until the first break before Sam trailed over. "Hi Mercy," he said in that way he had; that way that made it sound like he was saying "Have Mercy," like Uncle Jesse from _Full House_. Mercedes stiffened her back in a very Quinn type way. "Sam," she responded, cordially, but with no further emotion. She didn't wait for him to say anything to her, she just walked off to talk with Marley and Kurt.

Mercedes did everything in her power to ignore him, and the smile that he would send her way, but it was so hard. Jana Kramer's _Why you wanna_ started its own sound track in her head. _"Why you wanna, show up in an, old t-shirt that I love, why you gotta, tell me that I'm looking good, don't know what you were thinking, you were doing, moving in for a hug, like you don't know that I'm coming unglued." _She accepted that there was a part of her that would always have feelings for Sam, but that chapter in her life had closed. She had Young to look forward to. She had a possible future with him, and she would get to see him again in just a few more days. She just had to survive them first.

What was Sam doing here, anyway? Yes, just about everyone from Glee was invited, but Santana didn't like Sam, and he was one of Quinn's Ex's. Mercedes was sure that if Finn were still alive, he wouldn't have been invited to the wedding, so why was Sam here?

When they took their next break, Sam started wandering over, and Mercedes didn't notice until he was too close for her to seek an out without blatantly letting it be known that she was avoiding him.

When he was right in front of her, he smiled a lazy little smile. "It's good to see you again, Mercedes."

Mercedes face flickered with emotion. She bit down on her lip to keep from smiling, and frowned. "Yea, it's kind of nice when we're able to _all_ get together like this." She emphasized the 'all' so Sam didn't think that her affection was personal.

"I miss this," Sam said, wistfully, even though they had almost all gotten together a few months prior for Puck's wedding. Sam had been there, but they hadn't run into each other, for which Mercedes was grateful. "Do you think…can we go out for lunch, maybe?"

Mercedes' heart unexpectedly started racing. "Umm…I'm kind of talking to someone right now, Sam," she blurted.

He got that stupid, wild little boy grin on his face as he took her literally. "No one's here, but us, Mercy."

"I meant, in general. I'm talking to a guy right now. As in dating."

He frowned. "No, uh…I just meant like…um…friends. I've got a date, too."

Mercedes felt foolish, of course. Of course Sam had meant that in a platonic fashion.

_Maybe we can get a drink, and catch up, like that'd be enough. No that ain't enough. _Mercedes shook her head, trying to get the song out of her head. She didn't even like country music. Much. Not as much as Tina, anyway.

She forced herself to concentrate on the image of Young's face. She had no history with Young, no complications, no people all up in her business. She didn't have to share him with anyone other than Puck. She didn't have to worry about that fact that everyone she knew was either friends with him, had hooked up with him, or both.

"Maybe later," Mercedes said, non-committing.

Sam seemed to realize that she was giving him the brush off, but he had always been persistent, no one could deny that. "I'll be looking forward to it," he said. "I know that things…I know we have a great past, but we were friends before everything, and I want us to be able to be friends. I miss us. Don't you?"

"I-," Mercedes felt her mind blanking. This wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that she still had feelings for this guy when finally, finally there was someone in her life who was kind, sweet, respectful, and liked her, actually liked her. Why couldn't feelings turn off when you wanted them to? "I miss us, too, but it's hard being friends with you," she said honestly.

Sam took a step closer, into her personal space. "We don't have to be friends," he suggested. He flashed those blue-green eyes.

Mercedes found herself unable to remember how to blink. "Sam…"

"You know that there was no good reason for us to break up. You were just looking for a way out."

Mercedes looked away, because it wasn't untrue. Sam had broken it off between them, but it was her fault; she had told him to go. She couldn't remember the trigger; she just knew that she had been angry, and she'd been unwilling to talk it out with him. Sam reached for her hand, cradling it in his own. "Mercy…"

Mercedes pulled her hand away, and gave him a very stern look (remembering a second afterwards that that particular look always seemed to turn him on). "I told you, Sam, I'm talking with someone right now. We didn't work out, and that's all there is to it."

She turned on her heel, walking away. "Well, okay," Sam called after her, "But that's never all there is to it."

Mercedes just shook her head. _Oh, Lord_. _Five days. _


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: This was supposed to be posted a lot sooner, but low and behold when I was halfway through the second chapter I lost all of the story, because another file was saved on top of it. Anyway, here's chapter 2! Let me know what you think! **

**Oh, and I realized fairly late that chapter one had parts of later chapters posted, so it ended weird. I fixed it, but if you thought that the ending was strange that's why. **

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><p>In front of her friends, Mercedes might have been able to play it cool when she first saw her mom come walking down through the terminal, but once she was alone with her mom, she was all about being with her mommy. Mercedes was unashamedly a daddy's girl, <em>and<em> a mommy's girl…really she just loved her family period. She liked being the youngest because she was always going to be her mom's baby, and she soaked up the attention completely. Justine peppered her daughter with hugs and kisses all the way to the baggage claim. "I have missed you so much, my baby," Justine let her know.

"I've missed you, too, mommy! How was the flight?"

"You saw who I came with, and you know what Judy and Maribel are?"

Mercedes grinned with her mom and they said, "A mess!" in unison. Her mom could be all business and professional when they were out, but at home she was like her best girlfriend. She'd had the type of parents who she could go to about the birds and bees, and who would listen to her dreams, and even though Senior was a practical man, who envisioned a practical future for both of his kids, he loved his children, and supported them, wanted to do what he could to help them to succeed.

"I'm surprised we didn't get kicked off the plane," she joked with a smile.

"Oh man, what did you guys do?"

Justine laughed. "Nothing, really, which was a miracle, but we did kind of come up with an idea. How would you feel about us starting a band?"

Mercedes gave her mom an once-over. "Ma, no matter how old you get, you stay fabulous."

Justine ran her hands down her sides, before spreading them into the air. "Did you expect anything less?"

"I know I had to get that from somewhere," Mercedes said with a smile. "So what kind of band are you thinking about? You going to learn to play the drums?"

"Not really a band; more like a singing group. Everyone likes that old Motown feel, 60s rock, and 70s awareness music, but it gets tiring hearing the same songs over and over again. It's been 60 years; people have had plenty of time to get used to them. So we were thinking like new oldies. Songs that sound and have that old feel to them, but have new lyrics. We can be called the "Goldies"."

"I like that, ma. That's kind of hot." She thought about it while they waited for Justine's bags. From the corner of her eye, she caught her best friends with their moms only a few feet away. "Is that why you flew in with Quinn and Santana's moms? So you could start your reunion tour."

Mrs. Jones ignored her daughter's gentle teasing. "No, we were all just going to the same place at the same time, so might as well fly together."

Mercedes decided. "Ma, if you, Mrs. Lopez, and Mrs. Fabray can come up with a song, and put together a demo, I'll see to it that it makes it on the desk of an executive."

"Don't go making fun of an old lady, 'Cedes."

"I'm being for real," she insisted. "You guys put it together, and I'll pass it into the right hands so it gets a listen. If you guys want you can even record at my studio."

When she, Judy, and Maribel had been talking about it, it had been just an idea, a loose joke, but now with her daughter's challenge it was something that she really wanted to do. At the very least it would give her, Judy, and Maribel a reason to spend time together, and a projected that wasn't kid or craft related.

Mercedes stooped to grab her mom's suitcases, distinguishable from all the other black suitcases by the bright pieces of fabric she tied around the handle of her bags. Sje ttempted to grab both at the same time, but they were too heavy, so she had to give up on getting both of them at once, tugging only one to safety. Justine caught the second one before she had to wait for it to go around again.

"Umpf mom, what do got in here?"

"In that one? Trey. Leila's in the other one. Money's been kind of tight with me and your father, sweetie, so we've been having to make find creative ways to save money."

"My mom: the comedian," she deadpanned.

Her and her mom, and Santana, Quinn, and their moms, walked out together, parting once they got outside, but not before Judy could invite them to do lunch together sometime during the week. Mercedes chuckled when they were out of sight. "Good luck on finding time to do that," she chortled. "Quinn has been absolutely frantic about this wedding, and I bet she doesn't let either of the moms off of their leash until it's over."

"Has she been driving you up the wall?"

"And out the door. I know that they didn't get to have their big ceremony when they first got married, but I think that Q forgets that she's already married to Santana. Like she thinks that if everything isn't perfect Santana will change her mind about being married to her or something."

"Well, the two of them have been doing this dance for a lot of years now. Old habits die hard, you know."

"Yeah, but it's _Santana_. The only way she knows how to love is hard, and it's obvious that she loves her. Honestly, if Quinn even shows the slightest amount of effort, that's enough for her. I know Quinn's my bestie, but I have known Santana for a lot of years, and that girl is as hopeless a romantic as they come."

"I think you might understand it a little bit better when it's your time around," Justine declared. "You'll probably go full Diva Bridezilla when it's your turn."

"Me? You know I hardly ever make it an occasion for something that I want to do." That had always been a trait in her daughter that Justine wished that she'd overcome. Mercedes could fake confidence, but she was always afraid of occasions. When Justine had wanted to throw a big graduation party, Mercedes wouldn't let her. The same was true for her sweet sixteen. Justine had wanted to throw her a big bash, invite all of her friends from Glee, and some of the girls from church, but Mercedes was so worried that no one would show up that it had just been the family, Quinn, and Tina. Even as an adult parties had to be thrown _for _her. Justine worried too often that her daughter was going to be a supporting character in her own life. "Bridezilla is going to be Rachel, all the way. Lord help us all when she finally gets married; knowing my girl she's probably going to try to turn it into a Broadway production. Especially the more time that passes."

"Speaking of that," Justine began, "what's the news with this Young fellow you're talking to?" Mercedes couldn't help the smile that spread over her face. She quickly tried to cover her reaction up, but her mom had already seen it. "Well I guess that says it all."

"No, I…just felt like grinning," she said lamely. "But I don't want to jinx anything with him, mom. I know it's too soon to say anything like he's the one, but I think that he might be something special. He calls me every day when he gets off post, and I could talk to him for hours, have talked to him for hours. We've talked about just about everything."

"Okay, so dish. Is he an only child?"

"No, he has two older sisters, and a younger brother."

"Where's he from?"

"Oregon." She halted her mom's objection before she could pose it. "But he has no intention of moving back there. He says that he likes the Midwest."

"He's stationed at Scott, too?"

"Yep."

"What does he do?"

"He works on the aircraft electrical and environmental systems. He's only in for four years so he can get money for school. He wants to go to be an electrical engineer, and then he wants to reenlist, although after I told him about daddy, he might just become a medic."

Justine laughed lightly. "He's already looking into trying to impress your father. He's a keeper."

"I know, right! He's actually really excited to meet you and daddy."

"And we're excited to meet him, too."

Even though things were still in the talking stages, Mrs. Jones was cheered by the possibility that Mercedes may have finally met someone that was a right fit for her. She had spent countless nights consoling a crying daughter who was constantly wondering when it was going to be her turn. If for no other reason, Justine would always have a soft spot in her heart for Sam because of who he'd been to her daughter. He had been a perfect gentleman, had always respected her, and encouraged her to truly chase after the thing she wanted in life. Even though she had not properly demonstrated her appreciation at the time, she knew better than to make the same mistake again. Senior might have been stuck in his ways as to what did or did not make up a man, but that's what she was there for. To help him get unstuck.

"I'm glad that you've found someone, sweetie. Just don't let him worry too much about what your father thinks. This is your relationship with him, not your father's."

"Oh, don't worry! I mean I'm glad he wants to please daddy, but if he was doing something different with himself, I would be okay with that, too."

"And you're okay with the distance? Being a doctor's wife is no fun, and being a military woman is no better."

Mercedes smiled. "My jobs always been pretty mobile. And don't say wife, we're not even officially dating yet!"

"I'm sorry, you know how a mom's mind works. It was just a question."

"I know, I know. We've talked about the distance. We text all throughout the day, and Skype, and a long distance relationship is never the most ideal situation, but we can make it work. You worked it out with Daddy."

Justine nodded. "True." She sought a change in the conversation. "How are things going with work? It's been awhile since you updated me on that front. Are you still having problems with that Christy?"

"I told you already, I never had a problem with Christy; the problem is all hers. She doesn't think that I'm capable of doing my job but I have nothing to prove, especially to her. She can keep on trying to make me look but, but if she keeps wanting to employ her energies with trying to undermine me, she will be finding herself another vocation. HR has a file open on her, so she may just problem herself right out of a job."

Justine chuckled. "What about your latest project, the one you had with, oh…I can't remember her name?"

"Lexi. We sat her down with the studio musicians last Tuesday, and it went really, really well. First take on most of the tracks. She's a really good artist, and pairing her with Riot, that new teen violinist, worked out perfectly. You'll hear Riot doing the melodies of a lot of our tracks that are coming out soon. I love that we managed to snag her."

"When are _you_ going to do another album, baby?"

"It's in the works but I haven't felt really inspired by anything recently. I like doing this." Mercedes gave a smile. "I'm good at this. While you're in town, I'll have to take you to the studio so you can get a rundown of what we've been doing recently."

"Ooh, you mean I'm going to get to sit in a big time studio and see my baby at work?"

"It's not big time, and yes. And you know I work it mama!" Mercedes gave a few snaps for emphasis. Justine placed a kiss on the top of her daughter's head because she just missed her whenever she wasn't around.

"Did Kurt and Blaine get here?"

"Yep, they got in yesterday, and they are so excited that you're coming."

Justine gave her daughter the side eye. "What did you promise them?" she questioned, knowingly.

"Nothing much. Just your carrot raisin salad/slaw."

"And?" she prodded.

"And your gooseberry pie, but that's it!"

Mrs. Jones chuckled. "And that is why my luggage is so heavy."

It took Mercedes a second to process that. "Ma, please tell me you didn't bring your pots and pans with you!"

"Well, Ms. Fancy, I can't trust you to have the proper equipment in your kitchen, especially since you eat out at least four times a week. I knew that you and the boys would be demanding some of my home cooking."

"You're a mess, mom!"

"Let's see if you're still complaining when I make my gourmet tots."

"Ooh, with green onions and tomatoes?" Mercedes pressed a kiss to her mom's cheek. "You're the best mommy!"

* * *

><p>The next time they had a rehearsal, Mercedes was ready for it. She'd had to do a mental reset. She was nearly 30 years old, she was an executive, she had a good job doing what she loved doing, she had great friends, a loving family, and she was in the beginning of what seemed like a wonderful relationship with a really good guy. In short, she wasn't in high school anymore, and she didn't need to act like it. It had been over three years since she and Sam had broken up, two years since they last hooked up, and even though it hadn't entirely been an amicable break up, that was in the past. She and the rest of the Glee kids were going to be getting together for probably the rest of their lives, so she would need to be able to cope. And really, there was nothing to cope with. Before they dated, they were friends. After they dated, they were friends.<p>

Just for some added security, she seriously dressed down. Since it was so early in the morning, she didn't really bother with hair and makeup, leaving her hair in her wrap. She wore comfortable sweats, the one she usually wore when she went to Brittany's studio to get some dance instruction, and a fashion t-shirt that hung off one shoulder enough to expose her sports bra strap, but was just as comfortable as her pants. Her final touch was a pair of sunglasses that covered half of her face. She looked like you should look at 7:00 in the morning. She wasn't trying to impress anyone, she wasn't trying to demonstrate what certain people no longer had, she was doing herself. Sam was such a non-issue that it wasn't even funny.

"Attempting to hide from your many fans, Ms. Jones," Kurt teased her on their way to Brittany's.

Mercedes only smiled in return. "Oh you know how these crazy folks do. They'll do anything to get an autograph."

Kurt laughed. "Rachel told us that one fan was waiting for her in the bathroom, had sat in a stall for over four hours just hoping she would come into it."

"Oh my god!" She gave a quick glance around. "Don't tell her I said this, but I can kind of see her doing that back in her high school days."

Kurt tittered, nodding his head. "If we're talking about Finn, definitely. Oh, I keep forgetting to tell you: Aubrey just loves your song, _Out in the Rain_. You should sing it to her in person some time. Really you just need to visit New York more often. Or maybe move there, so it's not just me, Artie, and Blaine against-,"

The subject of his statement fluttered in front of them, dressed like a dancer from the 80s, leg warmers, headband and all. Kurt and Mercedes shared a look that basically said, _I don't know why we love this crazy girl_, just as Rachel clapped her hands together. "Ah, Kurt, Mercedes, Blaine, here and on time! I can mark your name off the list. Why don't you guys start stretching, so that we can get started just as soon as everyone else gets here!"

Kurt took a step back, and smiled in anticipation, looking between the two short Divas, as if Mercedes were about to go off, but in the words of _Destiny's Child _'her mama taught her better than that'. She didn't even issue a side eye or eye roll. Instead she just squared her shoulders and went over to speak with Brittany, who was already bouncing off the walls. Or she tried to, anyway. As she was crossing the room a simple, "Good Morning, Mercedes," stopped her in her tracks.

She spun around and was instantly glad for the sunglasses. They hid her eyes which, like Quinn, were probably one of her most telling of features, but unlike Quinn she couldn't school her face as easily, and usually all of her emotions showed. "Hi, Sam," she said, trying to sound casual. "Good Morning to you, too."

Sam smiled, and Mercedes smiled back. For a minute or two, neither of them said anything to each other, caught up in a silence that was anything but awkward. That thought kind of jarred her because shouldn't things be awkward between them? At least a little? Suddenly she drew her eyes away, trying to find something to break the silence, as comfortable as it had been.

Sam beat her to it. "Did your mom get here alright?"

"How'd you know that my mom was here?" Mercedes questioned.

"I…heard Kurt talking about it. I didn't know that it was a secret."

"It's…not. Mom's flight was good. She flew in with Judy and Maribel which was nice because she didn't have to fly alone. She still gets air fright from time to time, and she doesn't like flying alone. Oh…you'll never guess what they got up to on the flight, though, and-," she stopped because she realized that she was babbling. Well, not really babbling, just talking without cessation, as if she and Sam did this often, and she shouldn't be this comfortable around him, right? _Well_…she reasoned. _You're supposed to be comfortable with your friends_? So maybe she could be friends with Sam after would like that. Sam had always been good for her to talk to.

Sam, who had no idea about the personal struggle Mercedes was currently entertaining merely smiled in anticipation of the story. "What'd they get up to?"

"The three of them got it into their heads that they should start a group. Could you imagine? It's not like _surprising_, but it's _surprising, _you know?" Sam nodded, as if he did, but Mercedes doubted it because she wasn't really making since. "Only because she's like a grandma, and when you think about 'band' you think of hot guys in their 20s."

Sam scratched his head. "Funny, I don't spend a lot of time thinking about hot guys in their 20s. Is that what you think about?"

She gave him a playful tap. "You know what I mean! But I like the idea. I can kind of see it. My moms can sing really well, and Maribel, too. I'm not sure about Judy." Mercedes laughed. She didn't know why, but she did.

"Is your dad coming for the wedding, too?"

"Yes, but he's going to be flying up closer to the weekend. Junior, too." Mercedes smiled because by the time Junior got here, Young would be here. _Only a few more days_, she thought happily. She gave a guilty look at Sam, and then wondered what she had to feel guilty about. "He wasn't able to get any real time off from the hospital. He's coming the day of the wedding, and then he's heading right back."

"Are his wife and kid coming, too?"

"Kids. Junior and Whitney had another baby a few months ago, a boy, Michael III, who everyone just calls Trey. Whitney'll be here but she thinks Trey's too young to travel so he and Leila are going to stay with Whitney's mom. How have you been? I've only heard snippets from Rachel and Kurt every now and then. Are you still in…construction?"

He nodded, smiling proudly. "Yes. Officially have my own company: Evans Construction. It's nothing big or anything, but it's mine."

"How're your brother and sister?"

Mercedes never really thought of herself as sentimental, but she did miss being around the two of them sometimes.

"Stacy just started her senior year of high school, and she's gunning for captain of the Cheerios, how's that for déjà vu? And Stew's going to school part time, and helps out on my crew."

"That's-,"

Rachel clapped to attention as if she were a school teacher trying to wrangle her class together. Mercedes gave an eye roll, but said a good-bye to Sam, wondering why she felt a little bit of a loss after he walked away.

* * *

><p>Mercedes smiled at the familiar sound of Google Hangouts ringing. She reached for her headset, and slid into place just as Young's face appeared on her screen. He waited with a smile for her. "Hey, Pretty!"<p>

"Hi! How was your day?"

"We had a minor fire in the shop, and a circuit board shorted out on Fred. Not because of the fire, but because of some shoddy repair work. Two separate situations."

"Fred?"

"It's what we call the C-5 Galaxys."

Mercedes attempted a guess. "Is that a bomber?"

Young smiled at the attempt. "It's a cargo plane. My favorite is the raptor. That's…it's not exactly a bomber, it's a supremacy aircraft; what they use to 'control' airspace. I'd love to be able to fly one someday."

"Is it possible to train to be a pilot _and_ an electrical engineer?"

"It's always an option. I can go to school for electrical engineering but still get into the pilot training program once I graduate. That way I'll have two options once I get out."

"I like the idea of you being a pilot."

He blushed. Mercedes liked that he was a blusher. She liked that he was confident and shy at the same time. "Yeah? I kind of like the idea of that, too. Then I can tell you things like, 'I'll write your name across the sky', and mean it literally."

"Oh, and you can be like John Travolta and build a runway up to your front door."

Young laughed. "That would be something," he agreed. "How was _your_ day? Put out any fires?"

Mercedes guffawed. "All day! I'm out of the office until the wedding, but it's not been a vacation. First it was rehearsal for Quinn and Santana's proposal,"

"Proposal? I thought the two of them were already married, and this was just their wedding reception."

"They are, and it is, but it's kind of their wedding, too, because they kind of just got married in a spur of the moment kind of thing two weeks after Santana sorta proposed. Puck-,"

"I knew he must have had something to do with it," Young joked.

"Yeah, well he and Santana made a bet back when they were in high school, so Santana asked Quinn to marry her so she would beat Puck to the altar. Because there was no real time to plan the wedding, they're kind of doing a redo. And since they're doing the wedding they didn't get to have the first time, and Santana proposed then, Quinn's going to propose this time, but Santana doesn't know that. She thinks she's proposing again."

"Well…um…wow."

"Don't worry, it's hard to keep up with sometimes, even if you were there for it."

"Quinn was the blonde and Santana was the brunette right?"

Mercedes nodded. "Yep."

"When I met them they seemed to be pretty in love with each other. I think it's cool that they care about each other that much."

Mercedes nodded. "Yea, they both try to pretend that they're not head over hills in love with each other, but it's pretty obvious. Quinn's secretly had this thing for Santana since high school, but Santana spent most of high school fussing after Brittany, she's another one of our friends."

"And you guys are all still friends?"

Mercedes nodded. "Actually, all of us from our old Glee club are. It's weird because we all fight all the time, I think everyone quit Glee Club at one point or another when we were in school, but we still get back together, every time."

Mercedes frowned, because that statement made her think of Sam, and then she really frowned because why was she thinking of Sam when she was chatting with Young?

"What's the matter, Pretty?" he questioned, seeing her expression change.

Mercedes shook her head. "Nothing. What'd you say?"

"Only that you guys must really love each other. Love often brings out the strongest emotions in people."

"It does," she agreed.

"I don't think that I was that close to too many people in high school. Me and some of my soccer buddies, we keep in touch but we all just went our own ways. I think it's cool that you kept in touch with each other over the years."

"Yeah…we love each other," she agreed, "when we don't hate each other." She laughed. "Like me and my girl Rachel. In high school, all we did is fight each other for solos because Rachel balks when the spot light is trained on pretty much anyone else but her-and I like to have it too, no lie." She interjected. "She's on Broadway right now, which is exactly where she needs to be, where she can shine oh so very brightly, and every now and then when she gets too big for her own good, there's a reviewer or two ready to bring her back down to size. She's taken over this whole proposal, and performance at the wedding, and it's just easier to let her have her way than to go through the frustration of trying to fight her. I don't need solos anymore."

" I've never heard your friend sing, but truthfully, I could listen to you sing every day."

"That is…aw…that's sweet."

"I mean it, Pretty, it's beautiful. You can feel it like deep down. It's good that you don't need the solos anymore, but I think you deserve them all."

Her phone went off before she could respond, or even think of something to respond to that statement with. She grunted, but didn't even bother to check the caller. "Do you need to get that?" Young questioned. She shook her head. She knew by the ringtone that it was Sam. In a small bit of nostalgia one night she had set his tone as _Human Nature. _Not because they had kissed after singing that song together, but because she liked the way that they had sounded together. "Sure? It might be important?"

Mercedes smiled into the camera. "It's not. Just one of those friends."

An abbreviated version of the song punctuated that statement alerting her to a new text. "If you really like hearing my voice, you'll get a chance to at the wedding. We're surprising the brides with a singing gift."

"Awesome! I can't wait. Can't wait to get to see you again either," he was sure to add. "Will you think of me as too big of a geek if I said that I'm really excited about seeing you again?"

"As long as you don't think that I'm one for being excited about that, too."

Her phone went off again, but this time it was _Uptown Girl. _Young gave a small little chuckle, instead of being irritated. "You go ahead and get that, Pretty, and I'll talk to you tomorrow so you can tell me how the engagement went."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure…is good luck the proper sentiment?"

"Break a leg."

"Well, break a leg. Can't wait to hear about it."

"I'll record it so I can show you how good everyone is."

"Okay. But don't be surprised if the only one I'm looking at is you." He gave a wink. "Sweet dreams tonight, Pretty, and you know, you can think of me if you want."

"Good night, Young. I might just do that."

The session ended just as Quinn was calling her back. "Okay, white girl, this better be important because I just got off of Hangouts with a very hot Airman for you."

"Mercy, I'm going crazy. What if this all goes really, really wrong?"

Mercedes quickly switched to Best Friend Mode, checking her phone as she prepared to talk Quinn down from the ledge that apparently she was on. She saw the text from Sam and hesitated.

**Sam:** **Dinner, tonight, after the thing? **

Mercedes checked the time. She didn't want to grab dinner after the thing. They were going to be out until 9:00 at the earliest, but it was too late now to get something to eat beforehand. "Mercy? Have you heard anything that I said?"

"No; I was just finalizing some plans. Relax baby cakes. Everything is going to go great. How soon before you get here?"

"I'm about four blocks away."

"Okay. Just breathe, and remember…?"

She heard Quinn exhale. "Santana's going to be waiting for me on the other side."

"Exactly."

**Me: Can't tonight.**

She studied her text before sending off another.  
><strong>Me: Breakfast tomorrow? <strong>

A smilie face emoticon served as her answer.

"Thanks, Mercy. You're the best," Quinn said in her ear.

Mercedes sighed to herself. "I know this," she said in response.

Things surprisingly went off without a hitch. The only small hiccup was that Santana and Quinn predictably got into a small argument following the proposal, but it was quickly worked out. After the engagements, they were all riding a post performance high, so they decided to extend the evening at a nearby diner. Sam managed to wiggle himself into the space beside Mercedes in the booth, with Kurt slipping in on the other side. "You were great tonight, Mercy." Sam said as soon as they were seated, wasting no time in complimenting her.

Mercedes felt a familiar burn on her cheeks. "So were you," she replied, returning the compliment. "I know we always get in fights and everything, but I love us when we're all together, don't you?"

Sam gave an eager nod. "I love us, too."

Mercedes rolled her eyes and gave him a play pat. "That's not what I meant, Samuel Evans, and you know it!"

He fixed her with a smile and a stare that she forgot to look away from. When a whole minute passed and they were still staring at each other, Mercedes forced herself to blink and look way. Her eyes fell on Brittany, who had her arm looped casually with her wife's. Tamara had a hard to read expression on her face as she whispered something in Brittany's ear, which made the woman laugh. Tamara gave a small smile in satisfaction at the sound, as if she were proud of herself, before turning away to answer a question posed by Artie.

Tamara may have possibly been the most intense person Mercedes knew, and that said something considering the people that she surrounded herself with. When she and Brittany had first got together, Mercedes didn't really think that it would last for very long, but so far they were proving her wrong. Brittany was never shy about dating anyone, but even still, Tamara was so very different than anyone else Brittany had dated in the past. Tamara was far more serious than Brittany, than anyone Brittany had ever dated, even. Her smiles were rare, as was idle chat, and she maintained the same level of intensity at work, at home, around friends.

Tamara also wasn't a push over, either. Baby blue eyes and a pout didn't make her roll over and wag her tail. If Brittany was wrong about something, she didn't hesitate to call her out on it. Mercedes thought that was good for Brittany; to have a lover that stood up to her. Apparently Brittany agreed, too, because whenever Mercedes heard the woman talking about her wife, she talked about her differently than she had talked about anyone else, even Santana.

Brittany and Mercedes locked eyes, and Brittany made a face that caused her to laugh. "Hey, Britt, do you think that I can get a copy of the engagement footage?" she remembered to ask. "It doesn't have to be the edited version that we're given Quinn and Santana at the wedding, I told a friend that I'd send him a copy of our performance."

Brittany gave a bright smile. "I'll email it to you in the morning."  
>"Thanks girl." She grinned because then she could send it to Young before they got on hangouts tomorrow.<p>

"Is this _friend_ the mystery man Mama Jones keeps going on about?"

"Please, if Mama is talking about him, he's anything but a mystery. I'm surprised she hasn't given you his social security number.

"She promised to do that tomorrow. So, dish, Diva. Don't leave me in the dark."

Mercedes gave a glance over at Sam, who was suddenly looking uncomfortable. "Later, Kurt," Mercedes said pointedly, and luckily Kurt got it. She didn't know why she was so concerned about Sam's feelings, but a part of her would always be concerned with Sam's feelings, even if they were only friends.

As the night progressed towards the next day, Mercedes became aware of two things. One, she had the best friends in the world. Seriously, for all their problems, and competitiveness, in her mind the Glee kids made a great team. No matter what they were undertaking, as long as they did it together, it was sure to be a success. Mercedes loved how her friends were when they got together. Really, she just loved her friends. She never exactly forgot how much she loved dancing and singing with them, but every time they got together again, she would have that realization: _oh yeah_, _so that's what it was like_. And it only got better with time. They helped each other out, and were there for each other, and she liked that. They were a family.

The other thing that she became aware of, was that she was kind of in Sam's space. It was his fault. He had draped his arm along the top of the booth, and Mercedes couldn't say definitively if Sam had slowly inched towards her, or if she had inched towards him, (or maybe they had both gravitated toward the others like magnets trying to fight off the inescapable pull), but either way, she was dangerously close to Sam's chest, and his smell was foreign and familiar at the same time. She subconsciously turned into him, to pull in more of his smell, and had to stop just short of actually burying her face into his chest.

She looked up to find Sam watching her. He moved the arm that was sitting on top of the bench, practically around her, so that it was properly around her and she didn't protest it, because being near him, like this, it just felt so perfect. So right. Mercedes almost sank into the embrace, but caught herself before she could do it. "It's getting late, ya'll. I guess I'm going to go home; get my beauty rest." She nudged Kurt to move so she could slide off of the bench. "Kurt, Blaine, you guys coming with or are you going to hang out a little longer?"

Kurt and Blaine shared a look. "I think we're going to stay out a little bit longer," he said.

"Okay. You guys have a key." They exchanged cheek kisses. "See you in the morning," Mercedes trilled. Sam slid out of the booth, too. "Wait, I'll walk you home. You shouldn't be out this late by yourself."

"I was just going to call a cab."

"I'll share it with you, then."

Mercedes didn't protest until they were outside of the diner, and by themselves. Once outside, though, she turned to him, pointing a finger in his chest. "Okay, white chocolate thunder, or whatever that stupid nickname was, what are you trying to do?"

Sam gave her his best innocent look. "I'm trying to be a gentleman and walk my friend home."

"That's funny because it seems to me like you're trying for something else."

Sam reached for her hand. He smiled when Mercedes didn't immediately pull her hand from his. "Really? And what's that?"

"Sam, I don't know what's going on in your life right now, if something happened or if you're just doing this because it's a habit, but I need you to stop."

"Stop what? You haven't told me what I'm doing yet."

"Stop being you. Stop being the you that that old me belonged to. It's just confusing."

"Why is it confusing, Mercedes? The only reason it should be confusing is if you still have feelings for me."

She snatched her hand away from his. "Of course I still have feelings for you, Sam! Did you forget about me singing _I will always love you _toyou? You were my first love; I'm always going to feel something towards you because of that. But this dance that we're doing right now, this back and forth, I don't want to do it this time around. I would like for us to be able to get together, and be around each other, without-,"

"These feelings? They're not just something that can just be turned off. Have you not noticed that every time we're around each other that we get pulled towards each other? Why do you think that is, baby?"

"Force of habit."

"Oh come on, you know that's not true."

"I don't care what's true or not. We can't do this every time we're around each other! I can't give any more of my heart to you, Sam. We had our chance. We had our moment, and we didn't take it."

"No, you threw it out."

"I didn't throw it out; it stopped working. It doesn't matter anymore why. We're not together anymore, we're not going to get back together. So you need to move on. I have."

"Have you?"he demanded.

Mercedes gave a sad nod. "Yes."

Sam grimaced. "Fine. I'll turn my sexy off, pretend that I don't feel this attraction between us, and for the rest of the trip, we'll just be Mercedes and Sam. I'll be on my best behavior."

"Thank you, Sam." She said sincerely.

He bowed. "Anything for you, Mercedes. Are we still doing breakfast? As friends," he tacked on. Mercedes nodded. "Okay, well then I'll see you around 8:00 tomorrow morning?"

"That works for me."

Sam placed the lightest of kisses on her cheek. "I'll see you in a couple of hours. Friend."


End file.
